John matthews



@platten tetes atrnt @fitta JOHN MATTHEWS, Jn., or' NEW Your, `u. Y. i i Letters 4Patent No. 67,781, elated August 13, 1867.

IMPROVEMENT IN BOTTLE-STOPPERS.

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TO ALL WHOM I'I MAY CONCERN:

Be it know'n that I, .IonN Mn'rrunws, Jr., of the cit-y, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement on Bottle-Stoppers, of which the followingiis a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawing forming part of this specification, and in Which- Figure 1 representsY a view of a bottle, partly broken away, with my improved stopper applied to closing the neck of the same,'showing also, in red lines, its position when open, and

Figure 2 a longitudinal section of such stopper.

My improvement has reference te that description of bottle-Stoppers which, being inserted within the body ofthe bottle, close the latter by bearing against an interior shoulder or suitable construction of the neck, and which, to open the bottle, are forced or pressed inwards, and in this connection more particularly relates to Stoppers of therjcharacter described in Letters Patent of the 'United States issued to J. N. hicIntii-e, assignee of Albert Albertson, on the 11th day of October, 1864. But any invention'essentially di'ers therefrom in so constructing the rigid stemor rod, and combining with it, at its inner end, a valvular cap of rubber or other like material, as that the latter not merely serves as a bull'er te prevent damage to the bottle, when the stopper is forced inwards, but acts as the valve to close the neck of the bottle, thus dispensing with a separate valve or additional device for the latter purpose, and rendering impossible all percolation of gas or liquid through an intervening portion of the stem, when of porous material, or round the stem, and between it and the valve, as well as preventing loosening or displacement of the valve on the stem on entering the stopper through the neck of the bottle, or by the pressure of gas or liquor acting against the inner end ot' the stem. Furthermore, my invention consists in combining with a stopper of the character described a soft or flexible cap to the outer end ofthe rigid rod or stem. to still 'further or eieetually protect the bottle from breakage or injury whenopened or loose within it.

Though my invention is not of necessity restricted to the bottling of anyV particular liquid, it will here t suffice to describe it in connection with aerated liquids, such as soda-water, the bottles containing which may be lled in an inverted position when the Steppers, which, in such case, should be of superior specific gravity to the liquid, will. be made sellelosing by their weight, and kept closed till driven inwards by mechanical pressure, by the force of the gas contained in or admitted 'with the water.

In the accompanying drawing, A represents an ordinary glass soda-water bottle, a its neck, and its interior shoulder. C is the rod'or stem ofthe stopper, made, say, of glass, hard wood, or other suitable material, preferably of greater speciic gravity than the liquid in the bottle, and of an inlexible character, and in this respect essentially different from the valvular cap D at its inner end, which is of rubber or other suitable flexible and water or gas-tight material. The whole length of the stopper should besuch as will. prevent its being reversed, end to end, within the bottle, and so that when closing the bottle its stem will lit freely up intro or through the neck of the bottle. The inner end c of saidstem is of knob or bulb form, and should approximate in diameter the bore of the neck of the bottle, or maybe of the same size thereas, so as to be entered tightly therethrough, while the cap D may be drawn over it after the stem is within the bottle. This cap D, made, say, of rubber, is rmly held by the knob c when drawn over the inner end ot' the stem, and serves to form the valve proper of the stepper by bearing against the shoulder ot' the bottle, and to give increased bearing surface, may be constructed with an annular extension or collar, d, that also serves, by doubling up over the body ofh the cap, to prevent outward expulsion of the stopper by pressure of the gas or liquid on its inner end. Such valvular cap, it will be seen, affords no scope 0r surface for percolation through or round the stem when the stopper is closed, is not liable to be torn er displaced on entering the stopper by the slipping of the stem through it, and in conjunction with a soft or. lexible cap, E, to the outer end of the stem, gives to the'stopper a double-butler character, which, however the stopper strikes or is agitated within the bottle, proa tects the latter both at its sides and bottom from being broken or injured, notwithstanding the general chai acter of such stopper is4 hard and rigid, which is advantageous to its fit and operation from the exterior of' the' bottle by blow or mechanical force to effect its opening.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure .by Letters Patent, is

l. A bottlc-stopper, operating as described, 4composed of a stem, U, and valvular cap D, at its inner end,

said stem :md cup being made of dierent materials, and the latter being shaped and arranged to a. ct in the threefold capacity of volvo proper, buffer, and to prevent pereolation through or round the stem, substantially as specified.

2. A bottle-stopper, having a. stem of a. rigid character, with lexible caps D and E, to or over its opposite ends, essentially as herein set forth.

` JOHN MATTHEWS, JR.

Witnesses:

J. W.` CooMBs, G. W. REED. 

